For his entire adult life, the Brazilian engineer Alvaro Abreu smoked. By the time he was 46 he was smoking three packs a day. In 1995 he had a heart attack and his doctor said: no more cigarettes. Alvaro – nickname Zau Zau – heeded his advice, but was going crazy fidgeting, trying to find something to do with his hands.

Then he had an idea. He lives in the state of Espirito Santo in southeastern Brazil, north of Rio, where bamboo is plentiful. And he has always loved making things, so he had tools. With simple tools he made an equally simple utensil out of bamboo – a spoon.

I interviewed urban planning professor and author of ‘Emerald Cities’ Joan Fitzgerald for the John Adams Institute. Given the lack of national policy on climate change, cities have stepped into vacuum and are developing strategies of their own. Good for the climate, good for the economy, says urban planning professor Joan Fitzgerald.